Alabama jobless rate up slightly

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's unemployment rate is up slightly despite what officials are calling record employment in the state.

The preliminary, seasonally adjusted jobless rate for April is 3.8%. That's up one-tenth of a percent from March, but it's still below the rate from a year before of 4.1%.

The April rate represents 83,565 unemployed people in the state. But a news release from the Labor Department says the state still has more people working than ever before for the fourth straight month. More than 2.1 million people had jobs last month.

The unemployment rate can increase despite the high employment level as the labor force expands.

Shelby County in metro Birmingham has the lowest jobless rate at 2.4%. Wilcox County in west Alabama is worst with an unemployment rate of 7%.